Beggars of Life, the 1928 Louise Brooks film, seems to be undergoing a revival.
The once obscure William Wellman directed melodrama has been screened more often in the last few years than in the four or five decades following its initial release. Why? Because there’s a new 35mm print available. And, because there seems to be, of late, renewed appreciation for some of the minor masterpieces from the silent era. Beggars of Life is that.
On Sunday, September 19, Beggars of Life was screened at the 30th Cambridge Film Festival in Cambridge, England. Its live musical accompaniment was provided by the Dodge Brothers, a contemporary 1950’s style skiffle / rockabilly band out of England who play “roots music.”
The Dodge Brothers feature Mike Hammond, an expert on early film, critic Mark Kermode, and musicians Aly Hirji and Alex Hammond. The Cambridge screening also included honorary Dodge Brother and well known silent film accompanist Neil Brand on piano. The Cambridge screening was the second time in recent months that the Dodge Brothers have accompanied the film.
Beggars of Life is a late silent starring Brooks as a girl who murders her abusive step father and ends up on the run (dressed as a boy) while she and another young tramp attempt to escape to Canada. The film, a look at the underside of American life, was largely filmed in and around Jacumba, California near the border with Mexico. The film was directed by Wellman shortly after he made Wings, the first film to win an Oscar.
Though shot as a silent, Beggars of Life is considered the first sound film from Paramount. Sound effects and a couple of songs were added at the time of its release. These elements have since been lost.
Beggars of Life is based on a popular 1925 novelistic memoir of the same name by hobo author Jim Tully. His work is undergoing its own revival of late. Beggars of Life and other Tully books have recently been reissued by Kent State University Press.
In August, Beggars of Life was screened as part of The Hollywood Heritage "Silents Under the Stars" series at the Paramount Ranch near Los Angeles, California. It will be screened next at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday, October 23 at 7:30 pm. This special 20th Anniversary Tribute to The Film Foundation honors the institution which helped fund the George Eastman House restoration which has helped spur the current revival.
More info: Details about the LACMA screening in Los Angeles can be found at http://www.lacma.org/programs/FilmListing.aspx#1283966904684
Thomas Gladysz is a longtime fan of Louise Brooks, so much so that in 1995 he founded the Louise Brooks Society, an internet-based archive and fan club devoted to the silent film star. Gladysz has contributed to books on the actress, organized exhibits, appeared on television, and introduced her films around the country. Recently, he edited and wrote the introduction to the “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Bohme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl.
Comments